Nightly News Roundup: 10.22.2012

Rayman Creator Says the Wii U is, “Surprisingly Powerful”

For those worried about the Wii U’s capabilities, direct your attention to the latest mutterings of Rayman creator, Michel Ancel. Ancel has been a backer of Nintendo’s upcoming console for some time now, but it wasn’t until recent that he really vocalized his optimism. First, he boasted about the awesome sauce that is the Wii U GamePad, and now he’s gone on to discuss his shock regarding the unsuspecting amount of horse power under the Wii U’s hood, as well as how easy it is to develop for the system.

In an interview with Nintendo Power, Ancel reported that developing Rayman Origins for Wii U did not include as many problems, such as fill-rate issues, as it did for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. Following that up, he makes mention of Rayman Legends looking tremendous on Wii U simply because of the title’s exclusivity to the system, which allowed the team to push the hardware as far as they could. Ancel also reported, “And there’s a lot of memory. You can really have huge textures, and it’s crazy because sometimes the graphic artist – we built our textures in very high-definition. They could be used in a movie. Then we compress them, but sometimes they forget to do the compression and it still works! So yeah, it’s quite powerful.”

Aaaaaand a hush falls over the nay-saying trolls that picket at Nintendo’s doorstep.

The UK Sees its First Wii U Commercial

Debuting during a commercial break of Homeland, UK audiences got to witness mention of the Wii U for the first time via their television screens. The commercial, narrated by comedian Adam Buxton, shows off the core features of the system including the coveted GamePad, its touch screen, and the ability to play games on it while in another room, away from the TV and console itself. Interestingly enough, Nintendo’s name is nowhere to be found in the commercial, further cementing the strategy of marketing the console toward more than just the typical gamer; it’s a system for everyone! Now let me see another commercial with Gabby Douglas trying to convince me she plays a 3DS… oh, and that she is not a “gamer.” If you and I were in the same room right now, you’d witness me rolling my eyes.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Will Be Available Digitally

The latest Pokémon Mystery Dungeon title, Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Magnagate to Mugendai Meikyu (that’s Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Magnagates and the Infinitely Great Labyrinth for those not up to snuff on their Japanese) hits Japan on November 23, and will be available for download on launch day. The title is reportedly 8,192 blocks of memory large, or just over 1 gigabyte. Hopefully this is Nintendo dipping their toes even further in the digital waters, and is a sign of great things to come for those who like downloading their games, rather than rushing out to the nearest store to snatch it off the shelves.